Join Eric Byrd, local musician and Founder & Executive Creative Director of the Frederick Jazz Society, for a One Maryland, One Book program connected to the 2026 selection, No Sense in Wishing by Lawrence Burney.

This multimedia and discussion-based program will explore how Black musicians turn social observation into sound, with a focus on how rhythm, voice, groove, and musical texture have been used in jazz and hip-hop to reflect community, place, struggle, hope, and social change.

Using local Black artists such as Gil Scott-Heron and Lester Bowie as key examples, the program will connect these musical traditions to Burney’s reflections on music, Baltimore, memory, and Black cultural life. Attendees are encouraged to read the book beforehand as part of the One Maryland, One Book community reading experience.